Devil's Playground

A very low budget action/horror Brit flick featuring freerunning mutant zombie flesh eaters. Craig (Cliffhanger) Fairbrass and Danny (just about every recent cheapo-diamond-geezer pseudo-Arthur Mullard C-Grade megatrash straight-to-video Brit movie in recent years) Dyer take the leads.

The script and dialogue are pretty darned atrocious and the acting is sub-primary school nativity play standard. But, the pace is frenetic, the action violent and unrelenting, and it is a bit of mildly diverting fun. Plus, considering the budget must have stood at around £7.80 and a bag of chps, the convincing representation of London in the midst of a zombie apocalypse is fairly well rendered and quite suitably atmospheric.

There's plenty of punching, strangling, bludgeoning and shooting of the freerunning mutant zombie flesh eaters, and the very fact that the makers thought a Resident Evil type of virus McGuffin with the side-effect of gracing the stricken with parkour skills was a workable creative advance on the "28 Days Later" formula, makes it quite hilarious to watch at times.

Worth a look if you've nothing better to do. A cheerfully trashy time-waster.

The plot: After a new, experimental drug causes people to turn into acrobatic zombies, a brooding bruiser searches for the one person who can provide a cure.

Devil's Playground is a derivative and generic zombie movie, but I still enjoyed it. It's basically a ridiculous excuse to show lots of gore SFX and stunt work, the dialogue and acting are often cheesy, and it's undeniably a ripoff of modern "fast zombie" movies (especially 28 Days Later), but if you're in the mood for a B movie, this will satisfy you. If you're expecting it to be original (or even fast-paced), you're sure to be disappointed. It seems assembled from scenes of other zombie movies, but the scenes are competently directed, even if the dialogue and acting are occasionally a bit cheesy. It doesn't really have anything insightful or original to say, but it does manage to throw in lots of impressive stunts. If you're looking for a movie about flesh-eating acrobats, I think you'd have a difficult time finding a better one than this.

It's difficult to recommend this movie, but undemanding genre fans may enjoy it, despite the flaws. It's worth a view if you don't need anything better than a moody atmosphere, some B movie actors, and a simple plot. It's no classic, but it's a cut above the typical direct-to-video zombie movies that I've been watching lately.

Stop me if you've heard this before.

A superdrug is tested inadvertently causes the patients to turn into mindless, rage filled… ummm… aaaaahhhh… zombies I guess. Coming into contact with fluids or being bitten by the infected allows the virus/condition/disease to be spread, leading to a massive contagion in the entire nation of Great Britain.

Sound familiar? Well what about this? Only one patient seems immune to the negative symptoms – you know the flesh eating and general insanity – she is on the run, with various parties in pursuit to see if she holds the key to a cure.

OK so Devil's Playground hardly breaks into new territory, but it has a couple of moments, not the least of which is the count the clichés bingo that can be played while watching.

The reporter on the street being interrupted and killed on screen.

The guy who repeats "Mum. Mum. MUM!" as his destiny shuffles ever closer, covered in blood and ready to teach the poor dumb guy a lesson in common sense.

The guy who's infected and needs a cure immediately, only he lasts half the film without one while others who share a glass turn in 45 seconds flat.

The whole 'but she's pregnant' bit.

After the Zompocalypse © starts the infected immediately turn into parkour-ing Reapers from Blade 2, all leaping, snarling, unnecessary wall climbing menaces. They spill lots of blood and cause lots of gore all over the UK, usually with backdrops of carefully constructed carnage reminiscent of the Left 4 Dead video games.

Devil's Playground is uninspired and formulaic and doesn't do much to separate it from a million other similarly bland zombie flicks. As much as I love zombies I can't help but think for the time being they are a little overdone, this isn't the film that will revitalize the genre, but I give a couple bonus points for at least trying to make the film look bigger and flasher than a lot of other low budget efforts.

Final Rating – 4.5 / 10. So you say zombies are threatening the very social fabric of a nation again and it's up to a few individuals to save humanity? Wake me when it's finished will ya?

Not a fan of Danny Dyer, his attempts at being an 'ard man are cringeworthy, but he is tolerable in this fun virus infected maniacs film. I think they did a great job for the low budget. Some good bloody deaths and some attempts at character development too. Human nature and survival, betrayal. Far worse films out there and for a cheap UK film it's good. Shot in 25 days!! Well done to cast and crew for getting that much done in such a short time and budget.

Despite the fast paced action scenes I managed to be bored bored BORED(!) after 40 minutes. The story is so straight lined and clichéd that you can't even be bothered to hope for any twists, and the only character who's slightly believable and sympathetic is Craig Fairbrass (Cole).

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge zombie(/virus) fan, and I am aware that you don't necessarily need an amazing script nor 100% believable characters to make an entertaining zombie movie. But if you have neither and you don't have a single new interesting idea – well maybe you should just donate the money for charity instead of wasting it on another dull movie. People seem to compare this with 28 days/weeks later which apart from all of them being British and (relatively) low budget is blasphemy in my ears. In my opinion; if you like 28 days/weeks later – go watch them again instead of wasting your time on this one.